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I guess this is a little off topic but I thought that they had decided to have one mode that even if you ran it to zero, you could park it for a month before you trashed your battery. Maybe they decided to add on a second layer of protection and bring back a standard charge. I don't think that would be lying about the range, even if that was range mode. If the 300 miles at 55 mph is from a range mode charge, it's still something you can do for the few times a year you may need it. If, like most people I'd imagine, your daily driving is less than 150 miles, a standard charge may help prolong battery life and is something you'd likely want to do anyway.

Anyone know if the other stores will be getting more current betas or release candidates soon?

I guess this is a little off topic but I thought that they had decided to have one mode that even if you ran it to zero, you could park it for a month before you trashed your battery. Maybe they decided to add on a second layer of protection and bring back a standard charge. I don't think that would be lying about the range, even if that was range mode. If the 300 miles at 55 mph is from a range mode charge, it's still something you can do for the few times a year you may need it. If, like most people I'd imagine, your daily driving is less than 150 miles, a standard charge may help prolong battery life and is something you'd likely want to do anyway.

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I think Transl8r just meant that it needs to have a range mode, unless you could have 300 miles even without it. If the modes remain, in the production version, it would be good if Tesla could quantify the effect, so it is clear whether it's just better to use Standard mode in normal daily use, and it's ok to use Range mode once in a while (or only for a few exceptions, in which case one might want to also have "semi range mode").

Thanks for the photos. (I'd also be interested to see a complete side view of the white car with dark-gray turbine wheels.)

I think Transl8r just meant that it needs to have a range mode, unless you could have 300 miles even without it. If the modes remain, in the production version, it would be good if Tesla could quantify the effect, so it is clear whether it's just better to use Standard mode in normal daily use, and it's ok to use Range mode once in a while (or only for a few exceptions, in which case one might want to also have "semi range mode").

Thanks for the photos. (I'd also be interested to see a complete side view of the white car with dark-gray turbine wheels.)

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If you look really close, there is a message to that effect under the switch (basically that it harms the battery over time)

I think Transl8r just meant that it needs to have a range mode, unless you could have 300 miles even without it. If the modes remain, in the production version, it would be good if Tesla could quantify the effect, so it is clear whether it's just better to use Standard mode in normal daily use, and it's ok to use Range mode once in a while (or only for a few exceptions, in which case one might want to also have "semi range mode").

Thanks for the photos. (I'd also be interested to see a complete side view of the white car with dark-gray turbine wheels.)

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I see. That's how they advertised the Roadster. The 244 mile EPA rating was with range mode. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

If you look really close, there is a message to that effect under the switch (basically that it harms the battery over time)

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Yes, I read it. If that wasn't the case, there'd be no need for a second mode. However the question is: should one only not use range mode on a daily basis, but once a week would be OK, or should it be used only very rarely. That is, how much does one loose by using range mode?

If it is so much that one should use it only rarely, then it might make sense to have an intermediate mode. Standard mode for daily use where one needs much less than the available range, and wants to stress the battery not at all, and the intermediate mode which one uses when one would like to have as much range as is possible but with only a slight effect on the battery, and range mode for exceptional cases maybe 2-3 times a yesr.

The short answer is to use range mode only when you need it. If your daily commute is such that you can't get home without using range mode every day, then you probably want a bigger battery pack. I've only needed range mode maybe for three trips in 17 months. I think it simply places more stress on the pack but don't know if anyone other than Tesla can give you an exact amount of range hit the pack will take over time.

Everytime you drive the car you are taking a very tiny fraction hit on the pack. Standard mode is the mode Tesla wants you to use on a daily basis so that's fine to use.

Of course, range mode on the Model S may be a bit different than on the Roadster.

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Good point. Range mode on the Roadster gave you almost every last electron available to you with little room to screw up if you ran out. I think you may have still have something like a week if you ran it until it stopped rolling to plug it in though. With that wonderful blog post and a wider customer base, I figured they'd leave a large buffer from what the car tells you is 'empty' until the battery really is depleted. In their response to that in-famous (more than famous) blog, they said you'd have a month to plug the Model S in from empty so it sounds like they did that. They didn't say if that was from a range mode or something else.

Standard charges to a high level quickly
and maximizes battery life. Range charges
to the maximum level, but reaching full
takes longer and impacts long-term
battery life. Standard is recommended
unless maximum range is needed.

The full details of the battery warranty will be interesting to read. I suspect that TM will not reduce the warranty if you choose to use Range mode heavily. It would be odd wording to say on the EPA label that it can go 300 Miles on a single charge, then turn around and say you can't use that mode very often or you void/reduce the warranty.

I was told by Neil at the Menlo Park store a couple weeks ago that standard mode would charge the battery to 90% capacity and allow it to run down to 10% capacity (unless overridden if needed en route which would allow the extra 10% to be tapped). He said standard mode use prolongs battery life and is recommended whenever possible. He told me the 300/230/160 miles per charge at 55 mph figures are for range mode where the battery is charged to 100% and run down to [near] zero. He seemed very knowledgeable and confident in what he was talking about.